Information on Asbestos in Old File Cabinets

Asbestos is a mineral that is resistant to high temperatures and chemical wear. Its ability to resist heat and chemicals made it popular from the 1940s through the 1970s. It was commonly used as insulation for walls and boiler systems, and for file cabinets in the workplace. Asbestos is extremely hazardous and was banned in 1980, but some remains in older products, including old file cabinets.

Paper Backing

• Paper backing is a material used to line file cabinets. This material is made of asbestos. When paper backing is manipulated, folded, pulled or cracked, it can release asbestos fibers into the air. If inhaled, asbestos fibers can cause scarring in the lungs and lung cancer.

Asbestos Released

• Upon testing by the Department of Defense of paper backing-insulated file cabinets, some contained powdery residue, indicating a breakdown of the cabinet's insulation. File cabinets known to have released asbestos were manufactured by Remington-Rand during the 1940s and '50s, according to a Cultural Resources Management report on the Defense Department study.

Asbestos Banned

• In 1980, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, under regulatory powers granted to it by Congress, prohibited the sale and use of asbestos paper backing in the United States.